Dispenser for particulate material



June 7, 1966 J. GARDNER ETAL 3,254,799

DISPENSER FOR PARTICULATE MATERIAL Filed Aug. 25, 1964 9 a fl dam, dim L Maw, 07: (911m alien/war).

United States Patent 3,254,799 DISPENSER FOR PARTICULATE MATERIAL John Gardner and Robert A. Wells, Cleveland, Ohio, as-

signors to Foseco International Limited, Birmingham, England, a British company Filed Aug. 25, 1964, Ser. No. 391,962 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Aug. 26, 1963, 33,677/63 1 Claim. (Cl. 222-88) This invention relates to dispensers for particulate materials.

According to the present invention there is provided a dispenser for particulate materials which comprises a hopper, one or more upwardly directed cutting blades disposed in the hopper in a position spaced away from the base of the hopper, and a controllable valve at the base of the hopper.

In the drawing, the single figure is an elevation view of a dispenser embodying the present invention, with a bag containing particulate material to be dispensed positioned within the dispenser.

This form of dispenser is of especial value in the dispensing of particulate materials which are provided in bags or other packings of which the bag or other receptacle is itself disposable. In using a said dispenser with a said bag or the like of particulate material, the charged bag is placed, dropped or pushed into the hopper so that its lower surface makes contact with the cutting blade or blades, thus severing the wall of the bag and allowing is contents to fall towards the bottom of the hopper. The thus discharged particulate mate-rial can then be dispensed as and when required by regulation of the control valve. The invention is thus of particular value in connection with the use of particulate material provided in paper bags. After the discharge of the material from the bottom of the bag, the bag itself may be removed from the hopper and rejected as waste.

Conveniently the hopper itself is of the general shape of an inverted cone, the valve being located at the apex (bottom) of the cone. The cutting blade or blades may be located at any convenient height within the hopper. A particularly useful construction is that in which a centrally mounted stern carries a blade, or preferably several blades, e.-g. four blades, of generally triangular shape outstanding from the stem, each blade being in the approximate torm of a right angled triangle with its hypotenuse as the cutting edge and being located in the generally upward direction. A paper bag of particulate material, dropped in the hopper from above, is impaled on the blade or blades which thus cut through the wall of the bag and permit its contents to discharge under gravity.

Any convenient form of valve suitable for the controlled discharge of particulate material, e.g. powder or granular material, may be employed. Thus, for example, the valve may be of iris-type construction or may consist of a generally conical member seating within a corresponding housing.

It is sometimes convenient to mount the valve unit and the cutting unit on a single stem extending vertically in the hopper.

3,254,799 Patented June 7, 1966 The dispenser may be used for any purpose where a particulate material is to be dispensed. A particular case where it is of value is in the addition of conditioning substances to molten metal flowing in a launder. The conditioning substance may be for example a so-called nucleating agent for molten aluminum, or a degassing agent or grain refining agent. By appropriate dimensioning of the cutting device and control of the valve, having regard to the particular physical characteristics of the particulate material which is to be dispensed, it can readily be ensured that the material flows readily from the bag and subsequently through the valve. Nevertheless, if desired there may be applied to the hopper a vibrator device, known per se, to facilitate the fiow of the material.

A specific embodiment of apparatus according to the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Referring to the drawing, the apparatus comprises a conical hopper 1. Mounted centrally of the hopper on support struts 8 is a support 2 at the upper end of which is mounted a cutting device consisting of four blades 3 (of which three are visible in the drawing). Each blade has its cutting edge 4 inclined and facing upwards.

The lower end of the support 2 is screw-threaded and screw mounted on it is a conical valve member 5 the wider end of which extends through a circular aperture 6 in the base of the hopper 1. It will be appreciated that as the valve member 5 is rotated to move downwards on the screw thread the annular gap between the valve member and the edge of the aperture 6 increases and vice versa).

In use, a bag of particulate material shown as 7 in the drawing is dropped into the hopper 1 and its walls are broken by the blades 3 so that its contents fall to the base of the hopper. The rate of discharge from the hopper is then controlled 'by the positioning of the valve member 5.

We claim as our invention:

A disperser for particulate materials which comprises a hopper in the shape of a hollow inverted truncated cone, a stemmounted centrally on the axis of the said hopper, at least one upwardly directed cutting blade mounted at the upper end of said stem, a screw thread on the lower end of said stem, and a valve member of the shape of a truncated cone passing through a circular aperture in the base of said hopper and mounted on said screw thread so that it moves vertically on being rotated.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,363,828 12/ 1920 West 222-501 X 1,435,896 1l/1922 Hoskins 222-501 2,083,479 6/ 1937 Speare 222-88 X 2,122,540 7/1938 Sedwick et al. 222-88 2,350,836 6/1944 Sonneborn et al 222-88 2,520,068 8/1950 Seiler 222-86 X 2,792,160 5/ 1957 Jones et a1 222-501 2,858,050 10/1958 Barnard 222-88 LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner. WALT-ER SOBIN, Examiner. 

